Temporality, Eternity, and Wisdom invites readers into the text of Augustine's most widely read book to consider if rhetoric conflicts with Christianity and if Christians should condemn and abandon its use. In the Confessions, Augustine seems to answer such questions with an emphatic yes. Through a comprehensive review of the classic text, Calvin L. Troup argues that Augustine does indeed reject the dominant rhetorical tradition of the late Roman Empire, known today as the Second Sophistic. Troup notes, however, that Augustine's rejection of that rhetoric dates from long before his conversion. Troup argues that when Augustine converts, the semiotic integration of time and eternity in the incarnate Christ motivates him to espouse a substantial, practical alternative to the Second Sophistic that is nonetheless a form of rhetoric--a Christian rhetoric.

This book examines Augustine's intellectual conversion from Platonism to Christianity, as described at Confessions 7.9.13-21.27. It is widely assumed that this occurred in the summer of 386, shortly before Augustine's volitional conversion in the garden at Milan. Brian Dobell argues, however, that Augustine's intellectual conversion did not occur until the mid-390s, and develops this claim by comparing Confessions 7.9.13-21.27 with a number of important passages and themes from Augustine's early writings. He thus invites the reader to consider anew the problem of Augustine's conversion in 386: was it to Platonism or Christianity? His original and important study will be of interest to a wide range of readers in the history of philosophy and the history of theology.

This study of Greek time before Aristotle’s philosophy starts with a commentary on his first text, the Protrepticus. We shall see two distinct forms of time emerge: one initiatory, circular and Platonic in inspiration, the other its diametrical opposite, advanced by Aristotle. We shall explore this dichotomy through a return to poetic conceptions. The Tragedians will give us an initial outline of the notion of time in the Greek world (Fate); we shall then turn to Homer in order to better grasp the complex relations between time and the religious sphere (the Hero); the work of the great theologian Hesiod will confirm this initiatory vision, later set out in remarkable fashion by Nietzsche (Myths); we shall then dive deep into Pythagoreanism to complete our account (Mysteries). Having understood this current of thought, powerfully influenced by the Iranian theogony, we shall be able to discern its clear differences from the so-called “Ionian” current, and thus to move away from Plato (Ideology). Lastly, we shall return to the early Ionian thinkers Thales and Anaximander to analyse whether this really was the vision of the world that Aristotle adopted in developing the first model of time (Science). In the second volume we shall see the return of the thought of the theologoi within the Aristotelian corpus itself, and will question our distinction between the being and existence of time. - FREE EBOOK VERSION : http://editions-villegagnons.com/philosophy.htm -TRADUCTION : This book is also available in french with this title "Métaphysique du temps chez Aristote. Recherches historiques sur les conceptions mythologiques et astronomiques précédant la philosophie aristotélicienne.", 252p. 2009

Examines the visual traditions in a lost late twelfth-century manuscript, the Hortus deliciarum, compiled by Abbess Herrad for the sisters of Hohenbourg Abbey in Alsace. Argues that the topic of time, in the context of history, astronomy, and the calendar, was of central importance to the women's education.

One of the vital issues in contemporary Christian theology is the problem of a renewed understanding of God's eternity and its relation to time. This is not merely a peripheral doctrinal issue, but lies at the heart of our understanding of God and humanity, and contributes to our entire worldview. This study focuses on a long-standing debate between two competing views on God's eternity: one focused on God's absolute timelessness in classical theism, and the other on God's temporal everlastingness in contemporary panentheism. In contrast to both of these well-worn options, this book presents an alternative Trinitarian analogical understanding of God's eternity and its relation to time, especially through a critical reflection on Karl Barth's and Hans Urs von Balthasar's engagement of the issue. This analogical approach, based on the dynamic and dramatic concepts of God's being-in-relation and of the Triune God's communicative action in eternity and time, has the potential to resolve the debate between absolute timeless eternity and temporal everlasting duration.

This remarkable work offers an analytical exploration of the nature of divine eternity and God's relationship to time.

O divine Wisdom, Lord of heaven and earth, I humbly beg pardon for my audacity in attempting to speak of your perfections, ignorant and sinful as I am. I beg you not to consider the darkness of my mind or the uncleanness of my lips unless it be to take them away with a glance of your eyes and a breath of your mouth. Aeterna Press